Nigerian pepper soup spice
Also known as pepper soup spice, pepper soup seasoning, pepper soup spice mix
Dry spice blend
Quick answer
The ground mixture of West African forest spices sold in Nigerian markets for pepper soup: aidan fruit, ginger, garlic, African nutmeg, Guinea pepper, Ethiopian pepper, grains of paradise and two basils, in proportions that differ markedly from seller to seller.
In essentially every version: Aidan fruit (prekese), Ginger, African nutmeg (ehuru), Ethiopian pepper (uda), Guinea pepper (uziza).
3 distinct versions are set out below. None of them is presented as the correct one, because there isn’t one.
What goes in it
The defining core first, then the versions, with what each ingredient is there to do.
| Ingredient | Role | How essential |
|---|---|---|
| Prekese | primary aromatic | defining |
| Ginger | heat | defining |
| Calabash nutmeg | supporting aromatic | defining |
| Grains of Selim | supporting aromatic | defining |
| Uziza | heat | defining |
All five market mixtures weighed in one study held the same nine spices, and their proportions varied widely: aidan fruit made up 10–39 per cent of the mixture, ginger 12–32 per cent and garlic 6–34 per cent, while grains of paradise was never more than about 2 per cent. The figures describe five sellers in one market in Akure, not Nigeria as a whole.
The versions
Each attributed, with how firm its proportions are stated plainly.
Ginger-led market mixture
Typical commercialOne spice seller in a market in Akure, Ondo State, as weighed by Akinduro and colleagues (seller A) · proportions documented · medium confidence
A mixture led by ginger, with aidan fruit and African nutmeg next: the nine spices bought together from one seller, weighed and expressed as shares of the whole.
| Ingredient | Parts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Aidan fruit (prekese) | 18.84 | 19% |
| Ginger | 31.88 | 32% |
| Garlic | 6.28 | 6% |
| African nutmeg (ehuru) | 14.5 | 14% |
| Guinea pepper (uziza) | 8.69 | 9% |
| Ethiopian pepper (uda) | 9.18 | 9% |
| Grains of paradise | 2.42 | 2% |
| Big-leaf basil (scent leaf) | 3.86 | 4% |
| Small-leaf basil | 4.35 | 4% |
Shares by weight of the edible portion, in per cent, as the study gives them.
Aidan-led market mixture
Typical commercialOne spice seller in a market in Akure, Ondo State, as weighed by Akinduro and colleagues (seller B) · proportions documented · medium confidence
A mixture in which aidan fruit is close to two-fifths of the whole, with Ethiopian pepper, ginger and African nutmeg behind it.
| Ingredient | Parts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Aidan fruit (prekese) | 39 | 39% |
| Ginger | 12 | 12% |
| Garlic | 9 | 9% |
| African nutmeg (ehuru) | 10 | 10% |
| Guinea pepper (uziza) | 6 | 6% |
| Ethiopian pepper (uda) | 13 | 13% |
| Grains of paradise | 1 | 1% |
| Big-leaf basil (scent leaf) | 5 | 5% |
| Small-leaf basil | 5 | 5% |
Shares by weight of the edible portion, in per cent, as the study gives them.
Garlic-led market mixture
Typical commercialOne spice seller in a market in Akure, Ondo State, as weighed by Akinduro and colleagues (seller D) · proportions documented · medium confidence
A mixture in which garlic is about a third of the whole, with ginger, aidan fruit and African nutmeg after it.
| Ingredient | Parts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Aidan fruit (prekese) | 10 | 10% |
| Ginger | 14 | 14% |
| Garlic | 34 | 34% |
| African nutmeg (ehuru) | 10 | 10% |
| Guinea pepper (uziza) | 9 | 9% |
| Ethiopian pepper (uda) | 7 | 7% |
| Grains of paradise | 2 | 2% |
| Big-leaf basil (scent leaf) | 8 | 8% |
| Small-leaf basil | 6 | 6% |
Shares by weight of the edible portion, in per cent, as the study gives them.
Using it
Bought ready mixed and ground, and cooked into pepper soup with the meat.
Warm, resinous and peppery: the aidan fruit and African nutmeg give sweetness and depth, the peppers and ginger the heat, the basils a herbal top note.
Moderate, from ginger and the peppers; the market mixtures weighed contain no chilli.
- Pepper soup
Allergens and safety
Not among the substances that must be declared as allergens under EU Regulation 1169/2011 Annex II or under the United States major food allergen rules. That is a statement about labelling law and not about whether allergy occurs: allergic reactions to spices are documented in the clinical literature and are simply not a labelling category. Where a ground spice presents an allergen risk it is usually through adulteration or shared processing equipment rather than through the plant itself.
Culture and origin
Nigeria, where the mixture is assembled and sold ready for pepper soup in open markets.
Nigeria
Sold by market spice sellers as the mixture for pepper soup, each seller composing it differently.